4 the Tears in Ur Eyes is a great song to me. Loved it from day one. Beautiful, emotional, spiritual truth! Brings tears to MY eyes at times. I don't have the WATW album, not sure what's on it, but to me this song fits the mission of the album quite well. Its amazing to me how calloused or put off some ppl are it content. i understand the cynicism, etc. but despite what ppl have done with "organized religion", the lyrics of this song still ring true!

funkomatic said:

Like "Hello" and "Lalala Hehehee" quite a poor effort!

Aw, wow. That's dog...

sulls said:

funkomatic said:

Like "Hello" and "Lalala Hehehee" quite a poor effort!

Aw, wow. That's dog...

Truth has to be told. This is not first-rate material!

funkomatic said:

sulls said:

Aw, wow. That's dog...

Truth has to be told. This is not first-rate material!

It is first rate material for the purpose it was intended.

I don't know if Prince ever did another 'public reaction' song

but Hello is 1st rate

also remember these are Bsides for a reason.

Hello is a perfect musically and lyrically reaction to a public incident

the extend version is even better

La La La He He Hee is a fun jam, a simple challenge by Sheena Easton

And hardly poor efforts

^It's not even 1st rate b-side material, because there are much better b-sides. Don't you agree?

funkomatic said:

funkomatic said:

sulls said:

Aw, wow. That's dog...

Truth has to be told. This is not first-rate material!

In my opinion, La La La He He Hee is the FONKIEST song he's ever written and is one of my all-time favs. And Hello - just a brilliant account of his side of the situation. Taylor Swift could never write a song that could measure up.

funkomatic said:

^It's not even 1st rate b-side material, because there are much better b-sides. Don't you agree?

Hello is better than La La La He He Hee, but they are definately not the worst of his Bsides

are they worse or better than Horny Toad, Sex, or any of the later 1990's B sides?

Hello & LLLHHHee are definately not poor efforts

Anything B side can be better but it doesn't make these 2 poor efforts

Hello is a perfect compliment to Pop Life and a perfect response to a public event following one of his most awarding award shows

Prince & the Revolution @ the American Music Awards in 1985

LA:Shrine Auditorium 1.28.1985 3 awards, electic performance of Purple Rain, and the WRtheW events

Beautiful song, very touching.

19 4 THE TEARS IN YOUR EYES (3:23)
Produced, Arranged and Composed by Prince
Performed live by Prince, Wendy and Lisa
Recorded by Susan Rogers and David Tickle at S.I.R. Studios, Los Angeles
Published by Controversy Music, administered by WB Music Corp. ASCAP
Previously unreleased

The original, 4 THE TEARS IN YOUR EYES was recorded in the cavernous New Orleans Superdome on a tour off-day and was only available on the We Are The World album. This previously unreleased version was actually the track of the seldom-seen video which was produced for the worldwide Live Aid telecast.

“Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it,” goes the saying. Having provoked and sung about controversy in the past, suddenly Prince was the subject of it. Somehow his decision to pass on the “We Are The World” session became convoluted by an ugly encounter with an overzealous paparazzo and gossip mongers had a field day.

Downright defiant about his sensitivity to world hunger – the real issue at stake – Prince fired back for once. HELLO is one of the rare cases where he used his studio forum for personal commentary, directly answering those who second-guessed the effort and sincerity that had gone into 4 THE TEARS IN YOUR EYES.

– Alan Leeds, 1993

(Alan Leeds worked as Prince’s tour manager and Vice President at Paisley Park Records from 1982 to 1992. He won a Grammy award in 1991 for his liner notes to James Brown’s STARTIME).

OldFriends4Sale said:

funkomatic said:

^It's not even 1st rate b-side material, because there are much better b-sides. Don't you agree?

Hello is better than La La La He He Hee, but they are definately not the worst of his Bsides

are they worse or better than Horny Toad, Sex, or any of the later 1990's B sides?

Hello & LLLHHHee are definately not poor efforts

Anything B side can be better but it doesn't make these 2 poor efforts

Hello is a perfect compliment to Pop Life and a perfect response to a public event following one of his most awarding award shows

Prince & the Revolution @ the American Music Awards in 1985

LA:Shrine Auditorium 1.28.1985 3 awards, electic performance of Purple Rain, and the WRtheW events

Sometimes it's necessary to exaggerate to make a point, you know.

I agree with you, they are not the worst b-sides. Still: they are quite mediocre and wouldn't make it to the list of Prince's really relevant works.

EddieC said:

riocoolnes said:

Okay so just heard this song and learned that it was the song that Prince submitted for we are the world. I have to say this song is quite terrible. Wendy and lisa save the song. The has this very creepy haunting sound to it at times and does not work with the we are the world message. The music video is also horrible and i think that is the worst prince hair do of the 80s .

All in all, Do u really think this was a sincere effort by Prince? Do u think the song was quick response by prince or just something he had vaulted up and ready to go? and what do you think of the song? Could u say that its his 80s version of the Purple and Gold? Do u think he should have even released the song?

It's consistent with Prince's message when he was in Christian mode during the time (vague about details, but decidedly Jesus-centered) and I see no reason to doubt its sincerity. As far as fitting into the "We Are The World" message--it certainly fits as well as some other contributions to that album. Those are not message songs: "If Only For The Moment, Girl?" "Trapped?" People just submitted tracks they had, or gave a live version of something, for the most part. Most of the songs don't get outside of the purely personal, often romantic, realm. Prince as least gave something which is suggestive of the sort of "God is the ultimate answer" solution many religiously-minded people present for really large problems. For many with a religious mindset (and Prince has always seemed to see things in religious terms, even if much of his work explores the sensual), God is seen as the only real answer to suffering on this planet--human efforts ultimately will be failures, though they might accomplish some good, and are desirable.

As for your not liking the song--okay. Again, it doesn't stand out to me as being an abomination within his work at the time. Is it the greatest thing he did then? Probably not. Not deserving of release? I think most of the things I've heard from the vault for this period should be released, and I like many of them less than I do "4 the Tears in Your Eyes." Creepy? Don't see it. Mournful, yes--people are suffering in this world (famine victims included, though not emphasized over others), and while Jesus may have died "4 the tears in your eyes" that doesn't make all the suffering you're experiencing instantly go away. Not yet, anyway. I don't share the song's view of the world, but I understand it, and it doesn't seem all that unusual. The music seems to fit that view.

My only real problem with the song is the "Made the blind see, and the dumb understand." Jesus is described as helping people who were "dumb" in the sense of being mute, but that's generally a difficulty in making onself understood, not a failure of understanding by the mute person. Jesus is not credited with making the "dumb" in the sense of being stupid understand anything (other than explaining a few parables to his less than bright disciples, and that has to do with spiritual acumen, not intelligence per se), and unfortunately that's what the actual line makes me think--even though I don't think it's what Prince meant. The line always makes me do a mental doubletake that takes me out of the song, if only for a moment.

I played the heck out of it when it first came out--but rio (and others who haven't been listening for decades) are coming to things when there are way more songs to choose from. I'm guessing 3/4 at least of Prince's released catalog is coming after this track chronologically. And going at things differently than the order of release (with a ton of stuff to catch up on) probably affects the way songs hit you. I know that for artists whose work I've learned in piecemeal or reversed fashion I can sometimes have relatively unusual views of how their overall work goes together or how typical a particular song seems to me. I started listening to Nick Cave around "Murder Ballads" and "The Boatman's Call"--all that Birthday Party noise and early Bad Seeds is something that I see as something he kind of had to get past to get to the piano stuff from the period I first listened to him. I have gotten into the earlier material, but which songs stood out at first are influenced by what I knew about the later work--and none of it appeals to me the way the stuff I first heard does. A lot of people who came in during the 90's or 2000's are starting off with Prince being someone different than what those of us started in the 80's or 70's knew him as. Even at the time, though, Around the World in a Day and similar sounds didn't seem that weird to me. If he'd done Purple Rain Part Two then, I'm not sure I'd be listening today.

[Edited 3/31/13 7:23am]

You saved my long length reply! Thank you! I agree!

I do love the video version, better than the one released on the Hits Album!

Both are pretty good for me!

IMO one of the more awesome pieces he's ever written on guitar. I love playing this song, and it sounds so incredible on a 12-string.

I just wish I could sing it better, LOL.

OldFriends4Sale said:

"I told them that I didn't want to sing / but I'd gladly write a song instead". - Hello

4 The Tears In Your Eyes

Long ago there was a man
Who changed stone 2 bread with one touch of his hand
He made the blind see and the dumb understand
And He died 4 the tears in your eyes (Your eyes)
Many people came from all around
2 hear this man preach with glorious sound
He spoke of man in harmony and love abound
And He died 4 the tears in your eyes (Your eyes)

He died 4 the tears in your eyes (Your eyes)

CHORUS:
4 the tears in your eyes if they're tears of sorrow
4 cents may be all that they're worth
4 the rising sun each day assures us
The meek shall inherit the earth, the earth

Faith is a word we all should try
In describing the man who willingly died
Believe that your sorrow, hunger, and fears
Is less than the tears in your eyes, your eyes

Your eyes, your eyes
Less than the tears in your eyes (Your eyes)

Initial tracking for 4 The Tears In Your Eyes took place on 2 February, 1985 using a mobile recording studio outside the Superdome, New Orleans, LA, USA, the day after performing there (1 February, 1985) on the Purple Rain Tour. The video version was recorded in April, 1985 (exact date unknown) at S.I.R., Los Angeles, CA, USA, and premiered on 13 July, 1985 during the world-wide Live Aid event.

this is beautiful .... l love this

I personally think it's one of the best tracks he ever recorded. I think it's gorgeous. Love the guitar work.

I i love the song but I also was around when it first came out. In this era the appreciation of music is different. But hey..to each his own. No hating here.

I discovered this song out of chronological order. When I was 12 or 13, a couple of years after I first got really into Prince (in the early 90s), I discovered boots and bought an old boot CD called "Jewels from the Vaults" which had "4 the Tears In Ur Eyes" on it, along with the "Damn near 10-minute mix" of Thunder, If I Love U Tonight, and some other stuff that I was thrilled to get at the time.

I'm a little surprised anybody would especially dislike this song. I'm not a Christian and Jesus doesn't mean anything special to me, so it's not like I connected with the song in that way... I just think it's a really cool little number. I don't think "Tears" is on the level of the really great rarities/B-sides like "17 Days," "Wonderful Ass," or "Power Fantastic," but I do like it more than most B-sides, including "La La La He He He," which I never got that into.